both of us. Just breathe deep and tell me how you got free? We were just working on a plan to save you. Now breathe.”
A breath. Yes. Kirill blew out softly, then inhaled and did it again. “There was a being in my cell with me. One minute I was alone, trying to remember which screw released the door hinge. I was terrified for you. Yakov had said… he’d hired mercenaries…”
“Which we’re going to have to get rid of pretty smartly,” the demon broke in with a snarl, “so get to the damn point. My mate’s got news too, and you need to hear it.”
Kirill had barely paid attention to the demon and wolf shifter who’d been talking to his beloved when he’d been transported to the mouth of the alley. He barely gave them a glance now, although his protective instincts knew the creature was right.
“There was a being – a power – it filled my cell room. I immediately felt calm, like everything was going to be all right. I couldn’t see anyone though; I just felt this presence. Beloved, I’m not mad. Incarceration made me frustrated and angry, not loopy. But this power was there, it was so strong I felt I could touch it, and then this voice – a voice that called to my very soul.”
“What did the voice say?” At least his beloved believed him. Kirill hadn’t been sure he would.
“He said, he told me that the wolf, you, were safe. That he understood I needed to be with you. That when it was time, he’d find us again…” Kirill broke off, not sure if he could continue.
His beloved’s hand was like a branding iron on Kirill’s chest. “Your kind don’t recognize their mate by scent. And if you couldn’t see this person then you couldn’t feel an attraction there either. There was something else, wasn’t there?”
“I thought I was going mad by this point.” Kirill dropped his eyes. For all his years, for all his power, he’d never been so confused in his life. “A single drop of blood just appeared, as if by magic, and it had to have been magic because it was hovering in the air right in front of my face.”
“You found me through my blood.” The wolf - damn Kirill had to find out what his beloved’s name was - but his beloved coaxed Kirill’s chin up, the eyes meeting his clear and full of compassion. “You tasted this blood, I take it. This being is your beloved too?”
Kirill nodded. “I knew then, as I knew when I tasted yours, just one drop and… But then he sent me here and you’re in my arms… and all I know is this being is truly powerful, but he’s meant for us. I don’t even know what type of paranormal he is.”
“These men didn’t become statues on their own. I have a clue. Wait right here a minute.” The wolf patted his chest and walked away, his form disappearing into the shadows further down the alley.
“Arvyn, we don’t have much more time…” The demon called out urgently.
At least I know his name now.
“I just need a minute.” Kirill’s sharp ears caught the sound of sniffing, and then Arvyn charged back, his eyes blazing. But instead of coming near him, he stormed over to the demon guarding the mercenary statues. “Who is he? Who is the mysterious one who you call ‘my Lord’? The one who wouldn’t show his face.” The slap on the demon’s chest barely moved the bigger man.
“We need to get out of here.” The other wolf shifter came over, wrapping his arm around his demon mate’s waist. “Cass can get rid of these bad guys, but we all need to eat, and you need to shift Arvyn – you think I can’t smell the blood and pain you’re in?”
“Who. Is. He?”
Kirill loved that his beloved had a persistent streak, but the talk of blood and pain in connection with the stunning man pierced his brain with a laser focus. “Arvyn,” he tested the name on his tongue and found he liked it. “Arvyn, beloved, these men are right. This is not the place. If Yakov finds me missing, and these guys don’t report back to him, he’ll come looking.”
“I thought you’re the coven master? Can’t you just slap him, or overrule him or something?” But Arvyn turned to him, and that was enough for Kirill to cross the distance between them.
“I am, and I can,” Kirill said